Rise of the New Black Radicals

The almost daily murders of young black men and women by police in the United States—a crisis undiminished by the protests of groups such as Black Lives Matter and by the empty rhetoric of black political elites—have given birth to a new young black militant.

This militant, rising off the bloody streets of cities such as Ferguson, Mo., understands that the beast is not simply white supremacy, chronic poverty and the many faces of racism but the destructive energy of corporate capitalism. This militant has given up on electoral politics, the courts and legislative reform, loathes the corporate press and rejects established black leaders such as Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton andMichael Eric Dyson. This militant believes it is only in the streets and in acts of civil disobedience that change is possible. And given the refusal of the corporate state to address the mounting suffering of the poor and working poor, draconian state repression and indiscriminate use of lethal state violence against unarmed people of color, I think the new black radical is right. It will be a long, hot and violent summer.

The world’s hundreds of millions of disenfranchised youths—in America this group is dominated by the black and brown underclass—come out of the surplus labor created by our system of corporate neofeudalism. These young men and women have been discarded as human refuse and are preyed upon by a legal system that criminalizes poverty. In the United States they constitute the bulk of the 2.3 million human beings locked in jails and prisons. The discontent in Ferguson, Athens, Cairo, Madrid andAyotzinapais one discontent. And the emerging revolt, although it comes in many colors, speaks many languages and has many belief systems, is united around a common enemy. Bonds of solidarity and consciousness are swiftly uniting the wretched of the earth against our corporate masters.

Corporate power, which knows what is coming, has put in place sophisticated systems of control that include militarized police, elaborate propaganda campaigns that seek to make us fearful and therefore passive, wholesale surveillance of every citizen and a court system that has stripped legal protection from the poor and any who dissent. The masses are to be kept in bondage. But the masses, especially the young, understand the game. There is a word for what is bubbling up from below—revolution. It can’t begin soon enough.

What follows is a combined message from Texans for Accountable Government (TAG), and the two-political parties that are part of the TAG coalition.

Strong character and principle is about protecting the rights of the minority and the most vulnerable, and right now there is an overt attack on non-primary, aka. ‘third’ parties here in Texas. Non-primary parties, such as the Green & Libertarian Parties, could essentially be legislated out of existence from HB464, which is quickly moving through the Texas House.

We need to kill this bill, and we need you to call the Calendars Committee and visit their offices – on behalf of yourself as a concerned citizen and constituent – and succinctly express why this bill violates the integrity of the electoral process. (Talking points below).

Current Action Plan:

We’ve included the calendars committee, their office numbers, and their phone numbers below. We need to treat them as allies at this point. Make your opinion known, but be very respectful, polite, and attempt to humanize with these members. You’ll want to speak to the chief of staff or legislative director. The goal is to prevent this bill from hitting the floor, or at least delay it as much as possible.

CALENDARS COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Chair: Rep Hunter GW.18 – 512-463-0672

Vice Chair: Rep. Lucio III E1.320 – 512-463-0606

Rep. Alonzo 1N.12 – 512-463-0408

Rep. Cook GN.11 – 512-463-0730

Rep. Davis E2.310 – (512) 463-0389

Rep. Geren GW.17 – 512-463-0610

Rep. Giddings GW.11 – 512-463-0953

Rep. Harless E2.408 – 512-463-0496

Rep. Huberty E2.722 – (512) 463-0520

Rep. Johnson E1.204 – (512) 463-0586

Rep. King E2.416 – (512) 463-0736

Rep. Larson E2.406 – (512) 463-0646

Rep. Price E2.610 – (512) 463-0470

Rep. Riddle 4N.7 – 512-463-0572

Rep Rodriguez E1.212 – (512) 463-0669
Below is a message directly from Kurt Hildebrand, member of Texans for Accountable Government, and Chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas [tweaked by kat swift – cochair of GPTX]:

::::

“Texas House Bill 464 (HB464) will change the rules for minor party and Independent candidates to require filing fees of hundreds or thousands of dollars per candidate.

This is a new and unconstitutional TAX on the political process itself, and it must be stopped.

I can’t say this strongly enough. If this bill becomes law it will shut down the Libertarian, Green, and all other 3rd parties in our state – and that’s exactly what the bill is designed to do.

This bill is continuing to move toward a vote on the House floor and it could be scheduled any time, even within the next week. The bill is currently with the calendars committee for scheduling so we need to immediately call those members and let them know that this bill is a bad deal for voters, for democracy, and for Texas.

In the name of liberty and fair elections, I need you to take immediate action TODAY.

IF YOU LIVE IN THE AUSTIN AREA OR CAN GET THERE:

Immediately contact GPTexas CoChair kat swift at (210) 471-1791 or bexarkat@gmail.com and schedule a time with her to go lobbying at the capitol. We are scheduling lobbying in shifts Monday – Wednesday of next week.

IF YOU KNOW ACTIVISTS IN THE AUSTIN AREA:

Tell them to immediately contact [kat – see above] and schedule a time with her to go lobbying at the capitol. We are scheduling lobbying in shifts Monday – Wednesday of next week.

IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE AREA OR CANNOT TRAVEL:

Call your State Reps, Call members of the House Calendars Committee, and encourage others in your network to do the same. The Calendars committee members and their contacts are listed below. See the phone call script below to help you get started.

Go to http://gptx.nationbuilder.com/hb464 and use our tool to sign our petition and also go to [action.lptexas.org and] send a respectful message to your representative expressing your opposition to this bill. This only takes a few minutes but it really works and it’s important.

2. Take that number and the number of all the members of the calendars committee and make a call list.

3. Call the number.

4. When the staffer answers, say “Hi, I’m a constituent (or concerned citizen), and I want to urge Representative [name] to vote against House Bill 464.”

5. The staffer might ask for a little more info, or the staffer may just say “Thank you, I’ll pass that along.” And you’re done.

HB 464 TALKING POINTS:
HB 464 imposes a filing fee for convention-selected political candidates to appear on the general election ballot. Though touted by Rep. Drew Springer (R-HD-68) as [“leveling the playing field,”* (since primary-selected candidates pay the same fee to appear on the Primary Election ballot), HB 464 goes far off level.]

Unlike primary political parties, non-primary parties use NO taxpayer money for their candidate-selection process. The general election filing fee for non-primary candidates thus imposes an [additional and unnecessary financial] burden on such candidates. Our opposition to HB 464 is based on the following.

* There are already significant requirements in the Texas election code for convention-selection parties to appear on the general election ballot. HB 464 would unfairly impose additional requirements not imposed on primary-selection political parties.

* The effect of HB 464 will undoubtedly be to limit voter choice and increase voter apathy and cynicism. Voter participation rates in Texas are already abysmal and this law would make the problem even worse.

* HB 464 likely violates both the equal protection clause of the US Constitution (see for example Bullock v. Carter, 1972 US Supreme Court ruling) as well as various laws and court rulings against taxes used to manage the election process. Given that the proposed fees would be paid to the Secretary of State and not the Party, and that there is no obvious use for these funds in the absence of a primary, this fee looks very much like a ballot tax on non-primary candidacies.
Though HB 464’s intent is to level the playing field among political candidates, its effect is precisely the opposite. The Texas Legislature should make sure that our political processes be fairly applied to all who seek office in the State.
Thank you for your past and continued support of liberty and of the Green and Libertarian Parties of Texas. We will keep you up to date on this bill’s progress and others that may threaten our electoral system or prevent freedom and choice in politics. We are counting on you, Liberty is counting on you, and the future of elections in Texas is counting on you.
Sincerely,

Jill Stein, Former Green Party Nominee, Says Americans Are Ready For A Third-Party President

Americans may not have been ready in 2012 for an independent in the White House, but according to Jill Stein, who’s exploring a 2016 run as a Green Party candidate, today’s political state of affairs has changed that.

In a conversation with HuffPost Live’sAlyona Minkovskion Monday, Stein, who ran on the Green Party ticket in the 2012 election, asserted that “people have really moved” from a two-party system and are now ready to explore alternatives.

“If you look at 2014, the headliner in 2014 was not a win for Republicans — it was a loss for Democrats,” she said. “It was people staying home who have basically checked out of both parties.”

The “traditional base of the Democratic Party,” composed of “labor, students, women and immigrants,” was noticeably unengaged with the 2014 elections, Stein said, leading her to believe that “Democrats have really lost momentum.”

“They’ve really lost their engine and, you know, it really makes it clear that if we’re gonna give people a reason to come to the polls, we have to get out there and let them know that they actually have a choice,” Stein added.

With Americans fired up about several significant political issues, 2016 is poised to be a “historic moment,” one packed with potential for change in both administration and policy, she said.

“We’ve really hit the wall on the economy, on jobs, on the climate, on student debt, on the crisis in the African-American community, the crisis of police violence,” Stein affirmed. “People aren’t going to sit there and invest their hopes in exactly the parties that have gotten us in this mess, so it’s a very exciting time.”

Watch more from Jill Stein’s conversation with HuffPost Live in the video above.